My 3 Favorite Stocks to Buy Right Now

If you're struggling to find compelling prospects for your portfolio right now, you're not alone. The market's usual favorites are seemingly out of favor. Too many stocks also look and feel overextended.

Just peer a little bit beyond the beaten path for less obvious names, however, and you'll find value and opportunity there. Here are three stocks to consider now..

Start Your Mornings Smarter! Wake up with Breakfast news in your inbox every market day. Sign Up For Free »

Uber Technologies

Sure, ride-hailing outfit Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) missed its fourth-quarter profit estimates, earning $0.23 per share versus analyst expectations of $0.50. Its bookings and profit guidance for the quarter now underway also fell short of projections, sending shares lower.

But there's a reason Uber stock reversed course the very next day and has gained more than 20% from its post-earnings low. That is, given a day to think about its results and bigger-picture opportunity, investors recognized this company is still doing incredibly well. Last quarter's bookings were still up 18% year over year, extending long-established trends that will likely continue into this year.

The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) was also up 44% for the three-month stretch ending in December, extending a healthy growth trend.

There's also the not-so-small fact that Uber dominates the U.S.'s growing ride-hailing market with about a three-fourths' share. It isn't doing too shabbily in Europe either. That's why it's well-positioned to capture more than its fair share of the ride-hailing market that Straits Research says is set to grow at an annualized pace of more than 11% through 2032.

Perhaps the bullish detail that's most underestimated about Uber, however, is the rapid growth it's seeing on the food delivery and same-day logistics (buy online, get it delivered later that day) fronts, and how much opportunity awaits with these businesses.

With automobile ownership and the number of licensed drivers both still on the decline, the food delivery industry is expected to grow just as quickly as the personal mobility business is. In the meantime the same-day logistics industry is likely to grow at an average annual pace of more than 21% through 2033, again according to Straits Research.

Given this tailwind, it's surprising you can still buy Uber Stock where it was priced a year ago.

Iovance Biotherapeutics

Buying a biopharma stock just for exposure to a single drug usually isn't a great idea. There are justifiable exceptions though. Iovance Biotherapeutics (NASDAQ: IOVA) is one of them.

The drug in question is tumor infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) treatment Amtagvi. After years of development, it finally won FDA approval in February of last year, becoming the first such drug approved to treat unresectable or metastatic melanoma. That's not likely to be its final approval though. The same drug is now being tested in a dozen other clinical trials, certainly at least some of which will also result in regulatory approval.

Given this prospect, research outfit Global Data suggests annual sales of the drug will exceed $800 million by 2029, with $1 billion in yearly revenue possible by 2030. That's not bad at all for a $1.7 billion company that's also working on a couple of other drugs.

So why do Iovance shares continue to slide from their early 2021 peak? It's mostly the result of misguided predictive timing. When it became relatively clear that Amtagvi would be approved, the bulls got interested. Over the course of the next three years, however, that interest ironically waned while the world was waiting for what finally happened a year ago, and the subsequent revenue explosion that's happening now.

Give it some time though. This stock should respond to the underlying company's growth sooner or later, and likely sooner. In the meantime know that with the ever-improving financial success of Amtagvi now working in its favor, Iovance is developing other drugs that are distinctly different. Most of these are only in phase 1 and phase 2 testing right now, but the company's pipeline is promising all the same.

This might help: Although investors aren't collectively all that bullish on Iovance right now, analysts are. The analyst community's current consensus price target of $23.50 is more than 300% above the stock's present price.

Axon Enterprise

Finally, add Axon Enterprise (NASDAQ: AXON) to your short list of stocks to buy right now. You may be more familiar with this company than you think. Ever heard of a Taser gun? It's not just a weapon that incapacitates a target with an electroshock. It's also a brand name, not to mention a well-patented technology.

Well, Axon owns the Taser brand. The company was previously called Taser International, in fact, before changing its name to better reflect the fact that it now offers so much more. Body-worn cameras and a wide range of security and law enforcement software are also part of its current lineup. It's even tiptoeing into the surveillance drone arena, allowing first responders to gather information when danger may be present, or when personnel may be slowed down by difficult terrain.

That being said, it would be naïve to ignore the growing need for such solutions. Crime isn't going away, while litigation against law enforcement personnel is rising. The need for accountability and transparency -- the kind that only a video recording of a law enforcement interaction can provide -- has never been greater. That's the chief reason this company's fiscal 2024 revenue is on pace to grow nearly 33% year over year, before growing another 23% in the year ahead.

That's still just the beginning though. Market research company Technavio believes the global body cam market is poised to grow at an average annual pace of 19% through 2029, led by North America, where Axon enjoys a particularly strong market presence.

This stock isn't cheap, for the record, priced on the order of 100 times the coming year's expected per-share profits. It's also trading above analysts' consensus target of $648. It wouldn't be wrong to hold out for at least a slightly better valuation, as well as prepare for the above-average volatility that richly priced growth stocks seem to readily dish out.

Just don't be too stingy waiting for a bargain valuation. You might not get it anytime soon, if ever.

Don’t miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity

Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.

On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:

• Nvidia: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2009, you’d have $361,466!*
• Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $46,349!*
• Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $558,625!*

Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.

Learn more »

*Stock Advisor returns as of February 3, 2025

James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Axon Enterprise, Iovance Biotherapeutics, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.